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I watched a guy jack up his F250 and proceed to place 2 eight inch concrete blocks under the axle with the webbing vertical as Mark shows and a length of 2 X 6 on top. He lowered the truck and the blocks crushed immediately. That was a lot of weight I realize but the moral of the story is; concrete blocks are not jack stands.

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Picture hanging of the wall of our high school shop in 1961 were of the legs of two teenagers extended from under a car who were crushed when the cement blocks they were using as jack stands under their 58 Chevy Impala when they attempted to change out the clutch.

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Using blocks used to thin the weaker ones out, natural selection you know. Now most are so protected they never do anything that requires the least bit of common sence to avoid injury so the natural selection chain has been interrupted.........as Magnum said..."We are doomed", to have to coexcist with morons and idiots that would have been thinned a generation or two before. Sarcassm......kind of.

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Interests:Farm 1600 acres,milk 700 cows run mainly RED(gotta have a few others to make you appreciate the red ones even more)bought the '46 Farmall A in family since '52 when I was 17. Currently have A, C, Super C,230, M, 400,450 and an F30 adopted from my Wife's side of the family. Wish I had bought the 450 i grew up with, hindsight is 2020

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I don't even trust my jack stands! I use 2-3 at a time plus a jack which is a No-No, but I trust it more than the jack stands.

I've never seen a jack stand fail, but I've seen more than one jack fail. I definitely do not trust a jack more than stands. The only time the jack is the sole support for something I'm under is as I'm putting the stands in or taking them out. Now what I will do is put the jack back up to where it just has a slight amount of pressure against the vehicle. You do NOT want a lot of weight on the jack because that could compromise the stability of the stands. But doing it that way, if a stand were to fail the jack is already snug to take over.

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Ahahaha, I learned the cement block lesson first hand. Pulling the trans out of a car with the front end three blocks high. I heard an odd grating sound and looked over to see a crack shooting up though the blocks. I bolted up and out of the way as it came crashing down. I was very thankful. I think I was 17 or 18 at the time. After that I didn't use blocks any more, save for a rest for a brake caliper or the like.

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I've never seen a jack stand fail, but I've seen more than one jack fail. I definitely do not trust a jack more than stands. The only time the jack is the sole support for something I'm under is as I'm putting the stands in or taking them out. Now what I will do is put the jack back up to where it just has a slight amount of pressure against the vehicle. You do NOT want a lot of weight on the jack because that could compromise the stability of the stands. But doing it that way, if a stand were to fail the jack is already snug to take over.

Stands are made in China by somebody who learned to weld that morning, then they're painted over the Slag that wasn't even chipped off the welds. The jack is Much better made than the stands. Like I said, 2-3 stands, think the little ones are rated 3000# each, big ones are 8000# each, have 4 of each size, have 8000# bottle jack and 3000# floor jack. And I raise the jack just enough to share a bit of the load on the stands. Been doing it that way for 20 years.

Son had a friend from college killed a couple years ago when the newer Mustang he was putting a clutch in rolled off some jack stands.

I'm getting to the point where any worked needed on my cars/trucks that requires wheel/tire removal and then getting under the vehicle while it's on jack stands I hire somebody with a lift to do. Stuff like replacing the rear axle oil seals on my tractors I'd still do.

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Interests:Farm 1600 acres,milk 700 cows run mainly RED(gotta have a few others to make you appreciate the red ones even more)bought the '46 Farmall A in family since '52 when I was 17. Currently have A, C, Super C,230, M, 400,450 and an F30 adopted from my Wife's side of the family. Wish I had bought the 450 i grew up with, hindsight is 2020

If I'm going to work under a vehicle and the tires are going to stay on it I'll Jack it up and I'll put a rim underneath the tire can't roll out of it I think it's much more stable I have a couple of 14L16.1 rims actually 11 inch wide rims when they're sitting on the ground they are really stable

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Stands are made in China by somebody who learned to weld that morning, then they're painted over the Slag that wasn't even chipped off the welds. The jack is Much better made than the stands. Like I said, 2-3 stands, think the little ones are rated 3000# each, big ones are 8000# each, have 4 of each size, have 8000# bottle jack and 3000# floor jack. And I raise the jack just enough to share a bit of the load on the stands. Been doing it that way for 20 years.

Son had a friend from college killed a couple years ago when the newer Mustang he was putting a clutch in rolled off some jack stands.

I'm getting to the point where any worked needed on my cars/trucks that requires wheel/tire removal and then getting under the vehicle while it's on jack stands I hire somebody with a lift to do. Stuff like replacing the rear axle oil seals on my tractors I'd still do.

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According to a bit of research, it appears the standard for lifts is a uniformly distributed load. While a non evenly distributed load may be practical, that video is more about selling lifts than an actual certification test.

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According to a bit of research, it appears the standard for lifts is a uniformly distributed load. While a non evenly distributed load may be practical, that video is more about selling lifts than an actual certification test.

This may be.

My biggest problem with my/any lift is accomplishing an evenly distributed load. I agree that is the goal but not easy to do.

In a perfect world, cars/trucks would carry equal weight on 4 corners. Not the case.

Second issue is finding stable lift points on many vehicles. Again, not easy to do.

Third is finding both of the above. Nearly impossible.

And fourth, I have lifted SO many with this lift, I`ve become apathetic about it.

Local tranny shop had a 1 ton pickup on their 2 week old US popular brand lift.

Came back from lunch and truck was sitting halfway through their closed garage door.

US popular brand name company had a new lift installed in 2 days and paid damages to door/truck Hmmm...

Nothing is absolutely safe to get under nor is travelling in a car/plane/cycle/tractor.

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FWIW..... when I worked at the Chev dealer for a bit after high school i liked the drive on "alignment" style ones. Then the extra jack that slid between the axles to lift the car enough to remove tires etc. I always felt better with the 2 post fore and aft one also. I did have one truck fall on a frt control arm placing. At least it was not high and did not go off off. The flat one that sat on the floor pan of a car was quick but not sure safest thing.

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FWIW..... when I worked at the Chev dealer for a bit after high school i liked the drive on "alignment" style ones. Then the extra jack that slid between the axles to lift the car enough to remove tires etc. I always felt better with the 2 post fore and aft one also. I did have one truck fall on a frt control arm placing. At least it was not high and did not go off off. The flat one that sat on the floor pan of a car was quick but not sure safest thing.

Oh yeah, the drive-on ones are the safest/most expensive but the 2 posts are the most versatile/affordable.

And there`s only one profession cheaper than a shop owner... tell them New Guy.

I had a similar accident when I was a teenager. My dad always said to put the spare tire under the frame in case the car fell. Replacing brakes with the car on cinder blocks-had been that way for hours. Suddenly the blocks shattered and the 53 dodge fell on my legs; saved by the spare tire.